Deep water recovery



Aug. 6, 968 E. N. ROSENBERG ETAL 3,395,665

DEEP WATER RECOVERY Filed Dec. 5, 1966 2 sheets-sheet l 35 INVENTORS 06A N Poms/V5596 STEPHE/V F MORAN Aug. 6, 1968 Filed Dec. 6, 1966 E. N. ROSENBERG ETAL DEEP WATER RECOVERY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

INVENTOR. 606A)? 4 AOJfNBERG sra x/'n/ F. MOE/IN A T ORA/Ex? United States Patent 3,395,665 DEEP WATER RECOVERY Edgar N. Rosenberg and Stephen F. Moran, San Diego, Calif., assignors to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy Filed Dec. 5, 1966, Ser. No. 599,686 2 Claims. (Cl. 114-51) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to an improved floatable hoisting apparatus for raising a sunken object that includes a plurality of radially adjacent watertight compartments selectively flooded by a motor pump unit fed from a fluid sump for producing a torque with the improvement being directed to providing a counterweight in the form of a sinkable barge, for producing a torque additive to that produced by the flooding compartments. Upon raising and detaching the sunken object from the hoisting apparatus the compartment flooding sequence can be reversed to raise and recover the barge. The floating hoisting apparatus is additionally provided with a bow and stern section to facilitate transportation and to provide a stable operation platform.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

Background of the invention Floatable hoisting apparatuses employing a water-wheel principle or a surface winch technique are well known. In all these apparatuses the buoyant capacity is in excess of the utilized lifting capacity to result in an ineflicient use of the possible hoist capabilities. Other known hoisting apparatuses require a special towing vessel to transport the hoisting apparatus to the working site and also require a separate source of lifting power.

Summary of the invention Briefly the invention is directed to providing an improved floatable hoisting apparatus having floodable compartments capable of lifting a sunken object of a weight much greater than those previously known by reason of a sinkable counterweight that produces a torque that is additive to the torque produced by the flooded comparments and by which, the following objecs are attained.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a floatable hoisting apparatus having an effective lift capacity which is greatly in excess of conventional hoisting apparatuses.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a self-propelled hoisting apparatus that is independent of any other supporting vessel.

Another object is to provide a hoisting apparatus using a recoverable counterweight.

Other objects and attendant advantages will become more apparent in the ensuing detailed description.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the floatable hoisting apparatus shown in transit supporting a recovered submarine;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section along lines 22 in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3, 4 and are transverse sections along lines 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a frontal view of the invention showing one 3,395,665 Patented Aug. 6, 1968 ice end of the lines attached to the sunken submarine and the other end of the lines attached to a floating barge;

FIG. 7 is a front view of the invention showing the barge flooded and the submarine raised.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring now to FIG. 1 a floatable hoisting apparatus 10 having a hollow watertight cylinder 12 with a bow section 13 and stern section 14 is shown supporting a submarine 11 or similar negatively buoyant object. The bow and stern section are joined by a brace 15 to effect an integral hoisting apparatus. The bow section is provided a unit 13a for controlling the operation of the hoisting apparatus and within the stern section 14 a propulsion unit 14a is disposed to permit transportation of the hoisting apparatus from one location to another. The hollow watertight cylinder is provided with a longitudinally extending non-rotating shaft 16 which is rigidly attached at opposite ends to the bow and stern section.

The exterior of the cylinder surface is provided with a plurality of sets of longitudinally ext-ending spiral grooves 17, each mounting a hoist line 18 having, preferably, a first end 18a attached to a strongback 19. The longitudinally extending grooves permit the hoist lines to be carried on the cylinder exterior without being pinched beneath successive layers of cable. From the strongback to the sunken object attachment by known means can be made.

The cylinder 12 is partitioned to provide a plurality of sump chambers 20 and a plurality of radially-spaced watertight compartments 21, the latter being best shown in FIG. 5. Since each of the chambers 20 is identical and also since the compartments on either side of each chamber are alike, only one chamber and one plurality of spaced compartments are shown in the drawings, it being understood that several chambers and associated compartments are spaced within the cylinder. Depending from shaft 16 a fluid pressure supply, a motor pump unit 22, pumps water from the sump chamber 20 to selected ones of the radially-spaced compartments 21 to impart a torque around the axis of the floating hoisting apparatus. Bidirectional rotation of the cylinder 12 is permissible by selective flooding of certain ones of the compartments 21.

A further and more detailed explanation of the operation of the watertight cylinder may be had by noting Patent No. 3,228,371, issued Ian. 11, 1966, to the present inventor. The relative sizes, modes of operations and capabilities of the cylinder and lines disclosed in the cited patent are identical to that in the present invention.

At second ends 18b of lines 18 the lines are adapted to be connected to a counterweight, shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 as a sinkable barge 25, The counterweight is preferably of a weight that will produce a torque less than the torque produced by the cylinder and the combined weight of the counterweight and of the cylinder when flooded must be less than the total buoyancy of the hoisting apparatus.

In operation, the floatable hoisting apparatus 10 is maneuvered to a position vertical with respect to the submarine 11 and the hoist lines 18 through strongbacks 19 are secured to the submarine by conventional means. The sinkable barge 25 is connected to the second ends 18b and is filled with water. Selected ones of the compartments 21 are flooded to provide a gradually increasing torque to overcome the weight of the submarine. The torque produced by the sinking barge and the torque produced by flooding particular ones of the radially-spaced compartments produces an additive torque and gives the hoisting apparatus a greatly increased lift capacity. Upon raising the submarine to the surface, as shown in FIG. 7, the submarine can be patched and floated or transferred to another vessel for vertical support. Because the torque produced by the cylinder is greater than the torque produced by the barge, the flooding sequence in the cylinder 12 can be reversed to raise the sinkable barge to the surface where the water is purged and the barge is refloated thereby permitting recovery. Since the hoisting apparatus has its own propulsion unit, support and transfer of the submarine may also be made by the hoisting apparatus.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings and it is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a floatable apparatus for hoisting a sunken object including an elongate hollow watertight cylinder having Walls partitioning the cylinder into a plurality of radially adjacent compartments, a fluid sump means, a fluid pressure supply means for selectively delivering sump fluid to each of said compartments, a sump drain means communicating each compartment with said sump means and further including a hoist line means having one end adapted for connection to said sunken object and being wound circumferentially about the exterior surface of said cylinder, said fluid pressure supply means and said sump connected drain means permitting simultaneous evacuation and filling of selected compartments to provide a torque for enabling a selective bi-directional rotary hoisting force of said cylinder wherein the improvement comprises:

a hoist line mounting means carried circumferentially on the outer surface of said cylinder, said mounting means formed as a longitudinally extending spiral groove having a cross sectional area shaped to provide lateral support for said hoist line means, and

at least one fioodable barge releasably connected to the other end of said hoist line means, said barge upon being flooded producing a torque additive to the cylinder torque enabling a greater hoisting force, the additive torque being less than said cylinder torque to permit recovery of said barge.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 further including:

a bow section, a stern section,

a frame interconnecting said how section and said stern section, said bow section and said stern section axially mounting said cylinder at opposite ends for providing a navigational vehicle for said cylinder.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,961,591 6/1934 McArdle et a1. ll451 2,148,123 2/1939 Hymans 18794 3,228,371 1/1966 Rosenberg ll4-5l ANDREW H. FARRELL, Primary Examiner. 

